Scope and Contents

The Elmer Livingston MacRae papers related to the Association of American Painters and Sculptors, Inc., (AAPS) measure 1.8 linear feet and date from 1899 to circa 2013, with the bulk of the material dating from 1912-1916. Elmer Livingston MacRae served as Treasurer of the AAPS when the association organized the International Exhibition of Modern Art, also known as the Armory Show of 1913. The bulk of this collection concerns MacRae's involvement with the AAPS and the Armory Show and includes administrative files, correspondence, exhibition files, financial records, printed materials, and artifacts.

Biographical material includes an old collection inventory from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, two annotated appointment books, and a small handbook with notes.

Correspondence consists of letters addressed to Elmer MacRae from AAPS members such as Arthur B. Davies, Walt Kuhn, and Walter Pach, as well as other various artists, dealers, lenders, and buyers. Most letters concern AAPS business and organizing the Armory Show.

AAPS administration records include the organization's constitution, letterhead, meeting minutes, a report, and a membership list.

The Armory Show exhibition tour files consist of materials related to openings in Chicago and Boston. Materials include lists that track sales of tickets and pamphlets, insurance lists, a contract, an art inventory, and other items.

Financial records consist of AAPS and exhibition expenses in the form of sales lists of artwork, payroll information, shipping and transportation invoices, bills, rescinded dues, cashiers' journals, ledgers, a receipt book, and a checkbook.

Printed material includes copies of Armory Show exhibition catalogs, AAPS pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, clippings, postcards, and a poster.

Artifacts consist of AAPS memorabilia from the exhibition. There are button pins, calling cards, event invitations, mailing cards, signs, tickets, and other miscellany.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged as 7 series.

Biographical / Historical

Elmer MacRae (1875-1953) was a New York and Connecticut-based painter and served as treasurer of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors when the association organized the 1913 Armory Show.

Elmer Livingston MacRae was born in New York City in 1875. In the late 1890s, MacRae summered in an artist's community in Cos Cob, Connecticut, where he met his wife Emma Constant Holley. He moved full time to Cos Cob in 1899. MacRae became active in the Pastellists group. He was affiliated with the Macbeth and Madison Galleries in New York, where he was on friendly terms with fellow painters Jerome Myers and Walt Kuhn. In 1911, MacRae became a member of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS), Inc. From 1912 to 1916, MacRae served as Treasurer of the AAPS, the organization which organized the seminal 1913 Armory Show exhibition of modern American and European art. Formally titled the International Exhibition of Modern Art, the exhibition introduced many Americans to modern art for the first time. The Armory Show began at New York City's 69th Street Armory, then continued on to the Art Institute of Chicago, and Boston's Copley Society of Art. The latter venue did not include the American art due to space constraints.

Related Materials

The Archives of American Art also holds the Walt Kuhn, Walt Kuhn family papers and Armory Show records as well as the Joseph Hirshhorn papers regarding the Elmer MacRae papers.